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'•--/-f J>-t.^,f'^ A^^5. WILLIAM REDWOOD WRIGHT 



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Read at the First Annual Meeting of the Garden 

Club of America, on Thursday, May First, 

Nineteen Hundred and Thirteen 






MAR 18 1316 



The Colonial Garden at Stenton 
Described in Old Letters 

By Mrs. William Redwood Wright 



This paper was read at a meeting of the Garden Club 
of Philadelphia, October 19th, 19 11; at a meeting of the 
Pennsylvania Society of Colonial Dames of America, May 
1 6th, 191 2; and at the first meeting of the Garden Club of 
America, May ist, 19 13. All these meetings were held at 
Stenton. 

The letters from which these extracts have been taken, 
were written in Colonial days and they have been in the 
possession of the family ever since. They were brought to 
light in 19 II when every effort was being made to obtain 
data for the restoration of the Stenton Garden. No exertion 
has been spared to make its planting historically correct, for 
nothing has been put into the garden unless there was a 
record of its having been there in colonial times. There are 
only a few shrubs of later date, probably planted by Deborah 
Logan, which have been allowed to remain, owing to their 
beauty and the fact that they were already established when 
the Dames obtained possession of the Mansion and grounds. 

In the park stands the memorial recently erected to old 
Dinah, the faithful servant who saved Stenton from the 
British torch through her quick wit and loyalty. 

May those who visit Stenton take more interest in Its 
Garden from this short account of Its former Importance. 
It Is but a pigmy compared to the garden It is supposed to 
represent which extended beyond the graveyard, with 



orchards about it, while in its midst were the smaller fruits. 
East of the garden and of the graveyard, which was not built 
till after the revolution, the ground sloped to a pasture where 
cattle grazed and through which ran a limpid stream. Let 
us rejoice that the city has taken part of the old plantation, 
which originally comprised about 600 acres, for a park; and 
also that they have given the Mansion with grounds of its 
own enclosed in hedges, to be cared for by the Pennsylvania 
Society of Colonial Dames of America to be enjoyed by the 
public as an object lesson of a Colonial home. 




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THE GARDEN AT STENTON 



JAMES LOGAN, who built Stenton and laid out its 
original garden, was descended from illustrious 
families whose histories are interwoven, from the 
earliest years, with the history of Scotland. Although so 
nobly descended, Voltaire's saying "He who serves his 
country well has no need of ancestors" might well apply to 
him. He was born in 1674 and came to America in the ship 
"Canterbury" in 1699 with William Penn, as his secretary. 

When Penn returned to England he left Logan as his 
representative, and wrote to him, "I have left thee an uncom- 
mon trust, with a singular dependence on thy justice and 
care ..." and most faithfully and devotedly was 
that trust fulfilled. He represented William Penn and his 
family in Pennsylvania till his (Logan's) death in 175 1. 
A public-spirited and disinterested patriot, a generous and 
sympathetic friend, a pure and noble character, he bore almost 
alone the responsibilities of the province and to him is largely 
due the credit of its success, which was ever in his thought. 

He held many public offices as follows: Secretary of 
the province. Receiver General, Member of Provincial 
Council, President of Council, Commissioner of Property, 
Justice, Chief Justice of Supreme Court, Mayor of Phila- 
delphia and one of the Founders of what is now the 
University of Pennsylvania. 

The genesis of Stenton, and therefore of the Garden, 
is in a letter written by James Logan to his friend Thomas 
Story, under date of 3rd month 29th, 17 14, in which he 
states that he is about purchasing a plantation to retire to, 
situated in the City Liberties next to German-Town. 

In 17 17 he built and furnished a small house for his 
mother, who came to America in that year, for under date 
of 9th month 25th, 17 17, he writes to his brother. Dr. 
William Logan, at Bristol, England: "Our Mother is well 
and is settled, I hope to her content, on the plantation I 
proposed to her, etc. Be civil to Captain Cowman, ye bearer, 
on whose ship our mother came over." 



Stenton was begun in 1728 but was not lived in till two 
years later. The delay in building Stenton is accounted for 
in a letter from James Logan to Thomas Story, dated 29th 
of 7th month, 1729: *T formerly told thee my plantation is 
next to Germantown on this side. I have built a large brick 
house on it of 5 1 feet by 40, two good stories in height, very 
convenient and not unsightly, if it stood better. 

"I had expected to have been in it before this time, but 
being not fully plastered, I now know not whether we shall 
get thither before winter. 

"I made a great mistake in building it, I designed it a 
plain, cheap, farmer's stone house, but my quarries intirely 
failed me. It then lay 2 years to find others, but none could 
be had that would not cost me dearer than brick. I there- 
fore resolved on this . . . " 

It may be interesting here to note that James Logan's 
Quarries which "intirely failed" him, have been probably 
identified as situated at the extreme north of Stenton property, 
on that part which afterwards became the portion of his 
grand daughter Sarah Logan, who married Thomas Fisher, 
of Wakefield, in whose descendants the fee of the property 
still remains. I say probably, because the stone is of the 
same texture as that in the foundations of Stenton, and more 
especially because on the heaps of spalls or refuse are growing 
several oak trees of about 180 years growth. 

Stenton mansion was finished and the family moved into 
it in 1730, for James Logan wrote to his brother William, 
10 month 15th, 1730: "We have been removed to our new 
house in the country about three weeks. I have proposed to 
call ye place 'Stenton' after the village in East Lothian where 
our Father was born." 

Among colonial gardens the one at Stenton was 
important; for it was there that men like John Bartram, of 
Philadelphia, and Abraham Redwood, of Newport, received 
the inspiration which prompted them to establish gardens 
which became noted the world over. It was at Stenton that 
James Logan undertook a series of experiments on maize 



or Indian corn. These he described in letters to Peter 
Collinson in 1735, which were printed in the Philosophical 
Transactions.* As a result of these experiments he wrote 
a Latin treatise on the generation of plants, published at 
Leyden, 1739, which was later translated into English (in 
1747) by Dr. Fothergill.f Dr. Pultenay in his Sketches of 
Botany (published in 1790) says in regard to this treatise: 
"This work was considered and appealed to as among the 
most decisive in establishing the doctrine of sex in plants." 

About fifty years after James Logan's death, Robert 
Brown, "the first of botanists," named, in his honor, a new 
plant, the Logania. Into this family many plants grouped 
themselves that had been found earlier, among them the 
beautiful and sweet-scented yellow Jessamine of South Caro- 
lina, now known as the Gelsemium sempervirens, described 
so glowingly by Mark Catesby in his "History of the 
Carolinas," etc., (published in 1730). 

Gardening in England during our colonial period was 
in a state of great activity and enthusiasm. Unknown plants, 
from all parts of the world, were being shipped to England 
from all its colonies. Eminent botanists vied with each other 
in the rarity of the plants in their collections. 

William Logan, the son of James, took great interest 
in our native trees, shrubs and flowers. He was active in 
procuring them from the interior of the province of Pennsyl- 
vania and from the more distant provinces as well. He 
corresponded at great length with Jared Eliot, of Connecti- 
cut, author of "Essays on Field Husbandry," one of the 
earliest works of its kind published in America. Eliot was a 
great authority on agriculture and was the grandson of 
John Eliot known as the "Apostle to the Indians." 

William Logan writes to William Bodicker at the 
Durham Forge, $ Bucks County, 2nd month 20th, 1753: 
"Send me down, carefully planted in two tubs, two or three 

* Philosophical Transactions Vol.. XXXVI P., 192. 
t Title "Experimenta di plantarum generatione." 
t An interesting' account of the Durham Forge is given in Forges and 

Furnaces in the Province of Pennsylvania published by the Penna. 

Society of Colonial Dames of America in 1914. 



handsome Bay trees or broad laurels. Let them be straight 
bodied, about 3 feet high at most, and about the thickness of 
one's thumb — not too large a head in proportion to its roots. 
They should come by water and be often wet by ye boatmen." 
And again, 3rd month 28th, 1754: "When an opportunity 
offers, send me two or three young gooseberry bushes of the 
wild sort carefully planted," and yet again 4th month loth, 
1754: "Don't neglect sending me some pretty flower roots 
when ye opportunity offers." From Reading, Logan's cousin, 
James Read, sent him laurels and rhododendrons, receiving 
in exchange fruit trees, shrubs and roses. 

Among the earliest gardens in Charleston, city of 
gardens, were those of Mr. John Hopton and Mr. Henry 
Laurens, both correspondents of William Logan. Mr. 
Laurens sent over to England for a gardener to lay out his 
grounds — by name, John Watson, who later established a 
"Botanick Garden" in the neighborhood of Charleston, to 
which the gentry drove of an afternoon for a "dish of tea."* 
From him Logan bought a great number of new plants, a list 
of which was forwarded to Logan's friends in England. 
Watson's letter, dated Charleston, October 7th, 1765, thanks 
Mr. Logan for the seeds sent him and continues: "I have 
sent You inclosed a List of our Plants that grows in this 
provance but mostly in the woods for the Gentlemen heare 
is not so curious as to gait many into their gardens. You 
will pleas to lett me know by ye first Opportunity what you 
want and I shall do my indeavour to procure them for You. I 
am Sir your most Humble & obed't serv't. 

John Watson." 

Another correspondent from Charleston was John 
Gordon, whose plantation. Belvedere, lay somewhat out of 
the city proper. He speaks of John Bartram and his son 
having passed through Charleston on their grand tour 
through the Southern provinces; of his giving them letters to 
a friend who could help them with the Creek and Chickasaw 



• Ramsay's History of South Carolina contains an interesting account 
of these gardens. 



Indians "when passing through the Indian towns of those 
savage countries." In a letter from John Gordon dated 
Charleston, Jan. 4, 1765, the following passage occurs: "I 
cannot boast of a turn for Botany, tho' if I had, & could spare 
the time from my other affairs, I should have great advantage 
from my intimacy with Doctor Garden whom you have 
doubtless heard of. I desire you will send me a list of the 
flowers and shrubs you have in your garden & I will try with 
the help of my friend the Doctor to make your collection 
more compleat. Lord Adam Gordon is now here and will 
leave these parts about the beginning of March to finish a 
Tour of this Continent as far as from Mobile to Quebeck, 
consequently he will take Philadelphia in his way. He has 
a very pretty Botanical turn, is very new and curious in his 
observation. I will recommend him to your acquaintance, 
and I am certain you will be much pleased with his. He will 
give you a very particular account of the plants of this 
country. I beg you will make my respectful compliments 
acceptable to Mrs. Logan, and that you will remember me 
kindly to Mr. Pemberton. I wish you many returns of the 
New Year and am, with real estee^i 

"Your most ob'dt serv't 

"John Gordon." 

General Lord Adam Gordon alluded to above, became 
Commander of the forces in Scotland in 1782, and Governor 
of Edinburgh Castle in 1786. 

Doctor Garden was a physician much beloved by the 
people of Charleston, a botanist of reputation, and the 
author of Flora Carolina. In his honor Linnaeus named the 
beautiful Gardenia. Philip Miller* describes the finding of 
this plant at the Cape of Good Hope by a Captain Hutchin- 
son, "being drawn to it by the great Fragrancy of the 
Flowers, which he smelt at some Distance from the Plant, 
which was then in full flower." Trained as most captains 

* Gardener's Dictionary by Philip MiHer was first published in 1724 — 
this passed through many editions and was translated into several 
foreign languages. In his seventh edition (Published in 1759) Miller 
adopted the Linnaean system of classification. 



were to bring back any new plants they saw in their travels, 
he had this one put in a tub "where it continued a Succession 
of Flowers the whole Voyage" till the vessel reached a colder 
climate. It was then placed in the "Curious Garden of 
Richard Warner, Esq., at Woodford in Essex, who was so 
obliging as to favour" Philip Miller with a branch from 
which a drawing was made for his illustrated work published 
in 1760. 

There were many disappointments and losses on both 
sides, notwithstanding the great care planned for the plants, 
bulbs and seeds in their long journey from England to the 
provinces. In 1749 two large orders for fruit trees from 
Elias Bland were "sent to the proper account and risque of 
William Logan, Merch't," although at this time his father 
was still living at Stenton. I shall quote one to show the 
style : 

"6 named varieties of cherries "^ 
g " .< Plumbs P^^ them stand upon the 

12 " " Carnations J °P®^ ^^^^ 

Take care the mise don't Eat them & keep them from stormy 
whether, you may lett them have gentell Rain but not too 
Mutch of itt nor too mutch Sun Shine don't lett the Salt 
Water wash them 

Roots of tulips 
Ranunculus 
Narcissus 
Dutch poppys 

Seeds of double Larkspurs !> 

Stocks of severall sorts 
French & African marygolds 
Sweet scented peas, with directions 
with them when to be sowed." ^ 

Sweet peas were not known at the time of Parkinson 
or Evelyn. They were first cultivated by Dr. Uvedale at 
Enfield in the year 17 13. 

William Logan had many difficulties with his orders to 
Thomas Bincks, seedsman and gardener, who apologizes on 
May 20, 175 I : 

"I am sorry that the perennial flower, etc. rec'd such 
damage, the design of the lids being with a good view & I 



Take care the mise don't 
eat them. 




THE SOUTH DOORWAY 



am apprehensive if due care had been taken would have 
been of service. For the future shall follow thy directions. 

"P. S. The charge of the former boxes thou mentioned 
to dear is the neat expense I paid." 

William then tries his inventive faculty on lids : 

Stenton 12m. 17-1754* 
"Respected Sir Thos. Bincks — Altho' I have had very bad 
luck with what flower roots and plants I have had from thee, 
yet I am writing to make one more trial. I think I had 
nothing to show out of all that came from thee, except's 
some double hyacinths & jonquils & a very few anemones." 

The order enclosed reads as follows: 
*' Flower roots to be sent — 

24 earliest Tulips sorted 
30 largest and very best hyacinths sorted 
50 double jonquils 
100 yellow and blue crocus yt bloy in ye fall of ye year 
50 snow drops 
24 Persian Iris 
12 naked ladies 

20 double anemonies (if tuberose roots are plenty and cheap send 
me some of them dry also) 

Let them be Good and the Potts be put into 
a course Rough Box made with a shelving 

„ r— "' 1 lid so as it may throw ye water at sea when 

8 pots of auriculas 1 the weather is bad and yet be half open when 
good so as the Sun may not come too Violent- 
L ly on ye Auricula plants.) 
Seeds — A few of the best Carnations. What I had of thee before for 
such, proved when blown to be only common red five leaved pinks. 
Best double Holyhocks various colors 
Several sorts of stocks 
Hepatica 
Dbl China Pinks 
Snap Dragon 
Catipellars & Snales." 

The placing of "Caterpillars and Snails" among the 
garden seeds seems puzzling. If one turn to Parkinson's 
Paradisust published in 1629, one will see among the fancy 

• This letter was copied from Wm. Log-an's letter book in the possession 
of the Penna. Society of C. D. A. at their library at Stenton. 

t Paradisus in sole, Paradisus terrestris, or a Garden of all sorts of 
pleasant flowers by John Parkinson 1629 — is an enchanting old 
book, full of quaint instructions and giving "the place, the Time, 
the Name, the Vertue." of each plant named therein. 



8 pots of carnations 



grasses "Caterpillars & Snails." Parkinson calls "Cater- 
pillars" Scorpioides maius and minus saying "Under one 
description I comprehend both these sorts of Scorpions grasse, 
or Caterpillars, or Wormes, as they are called by Many, 
the greatest sort which came to me out of 
Spain," was not known unto Lobel, he tells us. They have 
a tart flavor and are cultivated even now in some parts of 
Europe for "surprises in salads & soups." They are now 
known as Scorpiurus Vermiculata. 

Parkinson names the snails "Medica splnosa, prickly 
Snailes or Barbary buttons." "The plant that beareth these 
pretty toyes for Gentlewomen, is somewhat like unto a 
Threeleaved grasse or Trefoil, . . . ." It is not 
edible as are the caterpillars, is a native of Europe, and is 
now called Medicago Scutellata. 

Another seedsman, Thomas Sanders, thinks that boxes 
nailed down are the best, and writes — 

"That you may not be disappointed this season I have 
had a box made to nail down so yt may not Move in the 
most tempestuous sea, have only sent you a small box as 
I thought that would be better." 

There is a pleasant thought accompanying the gift of 
fruit trees, sent with an order from Hunt & Greenleaf : — 
9th 4—1749 

"I have not charged thee with the cost of the Fruit 
trees, desiring thou'll Please accept them as a Present — and 
tho there may be little Probability of my Partaking of the 
Fruit of these Trees with Thee, yet who Knows but I may 
some years hence. 

"I am with much Regard 

"Thy affectionate Friend for self & Co. 

"John Hunt." 

The following lines, at the close of a letter to William 
Logan, dated London, Sept. 27, 1776, show appreciation of 
favours bestowed. 

"It would give me good Pleasure if you would please 
to give me a list of anything either England or Holland 



affords in the plant way I will send it and take it a favour 
of your acceptance as a small acknowledgement for the 
trouble you have been at. The Calmeas, Azaleas and other 
Pretty Plants you have will be very acceptable, the Yucca 
is very scarce with us and if not too much trouble a few 
young plants would also be acceptable. I am sr. 
"Your most Oblig'd & Humble Serv't 

"James Gordon."* 

The Gordonia (Pubescens) which Bartram found in 
the South was named by him for this noted nurseryman of 
London. An unsuccessful effort was made later to get more 
of these plants, but it was never re-discovered and all those 
put on the market were obtained from the tree in Bartram's 
garden. 

Not only through the nurserymen of England were 
plants obtained for the Stenton garden but exchanges were 
made with botanists, scientists, investigators and collectors. 
Such a one was Peter Collinson (1694-1768), early friend 
of American botany, for whom Linnaeus named a native 
wild flower of our province the Collinsonia. Southey says 
of him "he was the means of procuring national advantages 
for his country, and possessed an influence wealth cannot 
produce." Another was Dr. Fothergill (1712-1780), an 
English physician distinguished for his benevolence and pro- 
fessional skill, a botanist and conchologist. Dr. Franklin said 
of him "I can hardly conceive that a better man ever existed." 
To his care William Logan confided his two sons when he 
sent them to England to be educated. An ornamental hardy 
shrub which blooms in the early spring was named for him 
the Fothergilla. 

One of the most interesting correspondents William 
Logan had was John Blackburne (i 690-1786), a noted 
botanist of Orford near Warrington who maintained an 
extensive garden, including many exotics. He wrote of 
plants, their treatment and care, going over in detail those 

* James Gorden is alluded to by Richard Pulteney in his Sketches of 
Botany as' one of those whom he "cannot omit to mention with 
applause" for their practical help in the advancement of horticulture. 



he received from Logan, who sent cuttings, roots, seeds and 
bulbs of native growth; also mocking birds, flying squirrels, 
rabbits, turtles, butterflies, beetles, etc. 

To William Logan, under date of Sept. 6, 1766, 
J. Blackburne writes as follows: 

"I am much obliged to you for your many fine presents 
of seeds & roots wh. have given me great pleasure. Against 
another season we'll endeavor to send you some larks, but It 
would be In vain to send birds new caught before they were 
settled in their cage & would feed quietly. My daughter's 
birds came in fine order, but ye rabbits were all dead but one. 
They seem to be rather too young to undertake ye journey. 
I should be very glad to have a breed of them. The tortoises 
came safe also. Your favours will make a large addition 
to my collection of Exotlcks, for which I am much obliged 
to you." etc. 

Sept. 20, 1767 — 

"Both the Cardinals are now in full bloom with me & 
blow as strong as you describe them to do with you; having 
plenty of plants we set 'em In all situations & find they do 
best In moist ground. The orange colored ascleplas hath 
flowered elegantly in my stove this summer and we have a 
seedling plant set under a South wall of ye same sort. The 
purple flowered ascleplas Is very hardy with us and Is full of 
flowers in ye common borders. I have a plant of Saracena 
alive but It does not flower. 

"P. S. As I understand by a letter from my son, the 
larks he brought were reduced to six In number when they 
were sent to you from New York; however, as they are 3 
cocks and 3 hens you have a chance to introduce a breed of 
them. Tho' I am In tolerable good health yet old age I 
find subjects me to forgetfulness and to many blunders 

Notwithstanding which, on April 19, he seems planning 
a new garden venture. 

"I have just made a piece of new ground to contain 
more shrub flowers & In ye midst of it a bog for plants that 



grow in bogs. I am going to make a piece of rock work 
for plants yt grow in the rocks, viz: sedums, stonecrop, 
licopodiums, lychens, mosses, etc., most likely your part of 
America affords many pretty sorts of these as well as bog 
plants wh., as we have not many of them, would be very 
acceptable. My daughter desires your acceptance of her 
compliments. Her time you must know is more taken up in 
the study of nature, viz: Botany, insects, fossils, etc., in 
which for the time she is tolerable proficient, than In cards 
and such other pursuits as ladys of these days spend too 
much of their time. I wish you could see her blow of 
auriculas, she hath now more than loo pots of that plant in 
high beauty, & a great variety of fine sorts — but enough of 
this subject, a fond father will tire you with an account of 
his only daughter . . . ." 

With the above comes a letter from the daughter, Anna 
herself and tho' by no means her only one, will suffice to show 
her style and interests : 

April 19, 1768. 

"Good sir — As my father is writing and sending you a 
few seeds I shall send this along with them, & the box you 
returned with the butterflys for which I am obliged to you. 
******** 

"As it is very difficult to ketch moths and butterflies 
without spoiling them, do not give yourself any trouble about 
them, but if you can ketch beetles of any or all kinds, with 
which your country abounds, with very curious ones, those 
will be as welcome to the full. I have been told that as our 
country people call them all clocks, so yours call them with- 
out distinction Buggs. Bees, wasps and common winged 
flys, I should value, and these are not injured by a touch as 
the others are, & are more easily ketched. 

"Which is all with the compliments of the season from 
your 

"Very much obliged & humble servant 

"Anna Blackburne." 



In May 19th, 1775, Blackburne writes: 

"I am extremely obliged to you not only for 
these late but also for your many former favours. My 
garden abounds with many fine plants wh. I am obliged to 
you for. We have been very agreeably entertained with ye 
Cranberrys you sent and my daughter joines me in Compli- 
ments & thanks for them." etc. 

Johann R. Forster, who traveled with Captain Cook, 
perpetuated the names of John and Anna Blackburne by 
naming a palm found in Bermuda, after them, Sabal Black- 
burnia. This plant was the first of its kind to flower and 
fruit in England or Europe, and was of great interest to 
all botanists. The trunk of it, now dead, is preserved in 
the museum at Kew Gardens. 

A catalogue of John Blackburne's garden was made by 
his gardener Adam Neale, and was published in 1779. The 
only copies of this work that we know of is one in the 
British Museum and one owned by the Blackburne family 
in England. 

Anna Blackburne had a botanic garden of great renown, 
and was accomplished in natural history. At her death she 
left a large and valuable collection which now forms the 
Hale Museum at Warrington. She was a friend and 
constant correspondent of Linnaeus. Thomas Pennant 
named our American warbler after her, SLlva Blackburnia« v 

Trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs were not all that were 
exchanged but vegetable and grass seeds also. 

Among the vegetables were cabbages, carrots, cauli- 
flowers, beans of various kinds, the sweet potato of which 
J. Blackburne, writing to William Logan, January 8th, 
1768, says, "The potatoes I am very fond of & shall 
endeavor to propagate them, I like that sweet taste which 
I find is not agreeable to every palate." 

To Stenton were sent fruit trees in many named 
varieties. Apples, Pears, Plums, Peaches, Figs and Cherries. 
The history of the Cherry is interesting. About the year 
75 B. C, Lucullus, after his victory over Mithridates, brought 



from Cerasus in Pontus the Cherry tree, and introduced it 
into Italy. It was planted in Britain a century later, but 
the cultivated sorts disappeared during the Saxon period. 
In the 15th century "Cherries on the ryse" (or bough) was 
one of the London cries. These were probably the native 
wild cherries as the cultivated ones were not reintroduced 
till the reign of Henry VIII whose fruiterer* brought it 
from Flanders, and planted a Cherry orchard at Tenham in 
Kent. 

Some of the names of plants are very different from 
those in use to-day and it has been an interesting labor to 
trace the nomenclature to the present time. There were 
certain favorites sent from England in nearly every shipment 
these plants being at that time a great rage. Among them 
the carnation,! which has an ancient and interesting history. 

Theophrastus, in his history of plants (about 300 
B. C), says "The Greeks cultivate roses, gilliflowers, violets, 
narcissus & iris." Gilliflower is the old English name for 
carnation. About the middle of the i6th century the 
gardeners of Italy, France, Germany and Holland developed 
the original flesh color of the carnation (from the Latin 
carno, flesh), into so many varieties that in 1597 Gerarde 
writes, that to "describe each new variety of carnation were 
to roll Sisyphus' stone or number the sands." He assures us 
that the conserve made of the flowers of the clove gilliflower 
and sugar is "exceding cordiall and woonderfully above 
measure doth comfort the heart being eaten now and then." 
Chaucer tells us that the clove gilliflower was cultivated in 
Edward the Ill's reign. In those days it was used to give 
a spicy flavor to wine, hence its name of "sops-in-wine."t 
Philip Miller says in his Gardener's Dictionary (published 
1737), "some of the Ancients have supposed it called 
Vettonica, or Bettonica, from the Vetones a People of 

• The "fruiterer" who did so much to increase the varieties of apples, 
cherries, pears, etc., was "one Richard Harris of London." An 
interesting account of this is given In a rare pamphlet published in 
1609 and titled "The Husbandman's Fruitful Orchard." 

t In Cyclopedia of American Horticulture by Prof. L. H. Bailey there l3 
a very interesting account of the Carnation. 

t Spenser alludes to this In hi® "Shepherd's Calendar." 



Spain." This enables us to trace it to the Vettonica coron- 

aria of the old herbalists, so called because the flowers were 

used in the classic corona or chaplets. 

From the foregoing letters a list of trees, shrubs and 

flowers has been selected for the garden at Stenton, only 

such being planted as were there during the colonial period; 

the list mostly collected from the correspondence of William 

Logan who lived there after his father's (James Logan's) 

death. We have even ventured to try some evergreens, 

with the hope that the smoke of the city will not prove too 

much for them. Let us not think that we have a monopoly 

of smoke in these days, for did not Cowley, who died in 

1667, write in London: 

*'Who that hath reason and a smell 
Would not among Roses and Jessamine dwell, 
Rather than all his spirits choak 
With exhalations of dust and smoak, 
And all uncleanness which does drown 
In pestilential clouds a populous town." 

It was an important place that Stenton held in colonial 
history, for it was where both Indian chieftains and 
colonial statesmen came to confer with James Logan as the 
personal representative of William Penn. It was where 
Godfrey discovered the quadrant so indispensable to those 
who navigate the seas. John Hadley later claimed to have 
made the same discovery, but this is a disputed point. At 
Stenton were written the many books through which James 
Logan did so much to increase human knowledge; and 
where he assembled from all parts of the world that 
wonderful library which he afterwards presented to the city 
of Philadelphia, and which, as the Loganian Library, Is 
now housed In the magnificent Ridgway building. It did 
not lose in importance during our revolutionary period, for 
it was at Stenton that Lord Howe established his head- 
quarters at the battle of Germantown and later where 
refugees from South Carolina received hospitality. Washing- 
ton, Franklin, Jefferson and other patriots were frequent and 
welcomed visitors, while men of science and diplomats from 



other countries, paid their homage to Doctor George Logan 
and his charming and clever wife, Deborah Norris Logan. 

Next to Mt. Vernon, in Virginia, it is towards Stenton 
that the footsteps of those interested in colonial homes are 
turning. It is impossible to over-estimate its growing 
importance to the coming generations as an example of 
how our colonial forefathers lived and conducted their 
homes both inside and outside. 

It is well for us to venerate our forefathers, for "People 
will not look forward to posterity who never look back to 
their ancestors," it is also wise for us to reflect that while 
"it is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended 
the glory of it belongs to our ancestors!" 



LlBKPRY OF CONGRESS 



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iiRRARY OF CONGRESS 

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